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It's Fun to Play the Piano ... Please Pass It On!

Thanks Evamar! I appreciate it. And you're abs. correct, it was great listening to the other players. No comparing for me lol (besides, there is NO comparison LOL) The old 'compare and despair' is way too easy of a trap to fall into.

But heck, I just got home from this weeks lesson, and I was awful! Pieces that I went thru at home with not one error (just ok rythym though), the easier ones too, not even the 2 harder ones! Man, I'm kinda mad at myself...aargh!But at least I did get to play 1/2 harder ones, with only one error. Just so aggravating that I just bumbled all really easy pieces. But heck, it's only my third lesson so I'll give myself a break

I am excited about actually working on Joplin's Eugenia this time. I have tried it in the past but never got around to really practicing it. Went into it and worked out all the thirds fingering and can play it decently that way reading the sheet.

Thank you. Yes, Eugenia is rather difficult. I doubt I will ever post it (if you mean recording it ) as most of the pieces I practice I get it to a half decent performance and still in technical shambles before I get tired of it and move onto something else.

as most of the pieces I practice I get it to a half decent performance and still in technical shambles before I get tired of it and move onto something else.

This is totally me!I have 3 pieces at that point at the moment. I'm going to take a stab at recording one this week, if not for the quarterly recital then for Ecco Fatto Cafe. I haven't ever uploaded a piece here and it is one of my resolutions for the year to do it.

MaryBee,Andy,Evamar- The lame program is what I downloaded and couldn't get to work (pc/win version.) It turns out I also got a very nasty virus to go with it, which I had to spend all day yesterday getting rid of (hopefully.) At this point I'm done with freeware. Anybody know a simple audio editing program available commercially?

Chrisl - Nice job with the piano party. It isn't easy to play in front of others for the first time. And I guarantee someday you will think of that Steinway as feeling and sounding wonderful...a treat that you can't get enough of.

MaryBee,Andy,Evamar- The lame program is what I downloaded and couldn't get to work (pc/win version.) It turns out I also got a very nasty virus to go with it, which I had to spend all day yesterday getting rid of (hopefully.) At this point I'm done with freeware. Anybody know a simple audio editing program available commercially?

Chrisl - Nice job with the piano party. It isn't easy to play in front of others for the first time. And I guarantee someday you will think of that Steinway as feeling and sounding wonderful...a treat that you can't get enough of.

Reaper has a 60 day trial that never ends. It's a good option.

If you need the Lame .mp3 encoding option, you can easily download the .dll and get it working. Took me like 3 minutes to set up, and the software will tell you what to do (select lame encoding in the rendering options and it will tell you what to do)

MaryBee,Andy,Evamar- The lame program is what I downloaded and couldn't get to work (pc/win version.) It turns out I also got a very nasty virus to go with it, which I had to spend all day yesterday getting rid of (hopefully.) At this point I'm done with freeware. Anybody know a simple audio editing program available commercially?

Chrisl - Nice job with the piano party. It isn't easy to play in front of others for the first time. And I guarantee someday you will think of that Steinway as feeling and sounding wonderful...a treat that you can't get enough of.

Jim, I've used a simple program called Wave Editor in the past which worked well for me.

And Thank You. I need to haul myself to a piano store and play on some diff. Steinways, and other brands just to familiarize myself with the key weightings. But I actually talked to my teacher about his piano and my not so good performing on it, and as usual, he said "give it time" I'm afraid I'm AM going to fall in love with it and be totally spoiled lol

The lame program is what I downloaded and couldn't get to work (pc/win version.) It turns out I also got a very nasty virus to go with it, which I had to spend all day yesterday getting rid of (hopefully.) At this point I'm done with freeware. Anybody know a simple audio editing program available commercially?

Sorry to hear about that. I also thought the LAME program was a pain to work with at first. Do you have the following version of Audacity?

Once those are completed you just need to locate the lame_enc.dll which would be in a folder called "Lame for Audacity" in your Program Files folder. The file will be requested when you try to Export to an MP3. Good luck!

I'm happy to hear that so many of you are managing to get your recital recordings done, even with some technological set-backs.

My (mid-week) AOTW is that I'm still practicing every day, even though I've been down for the count with a lousy winter cold and had to cancel my last lesson. My elderly teacher and her husband have both been battling colds, and there was no way I would have gone to her home while coughing and sneezing all over creation. Not surprisingly, she agreed.

Corysold - a special shout-out to you for being more musical than a 5th grader. There's a game show idea in that, I just know.

So thanks to the impending storm everything I have been trying to prepare for this week has been rescheduled. Gave me some quality time at the piano. So my achievement of the week was totally unexpected...Just out of curiosity I decided to do a take at a very moderate tempo. I wanted to be able to compare the two because the piece is actually played with varying tempo depending on the performer. I REALLY LIKE IT this way! At least for the moment. It's more than one minute longer than my usual tempo. I've decided to submit this one.

The performance was not hindered by my daughter asking me about dolphin families in the middle. I was able to answer her question without completely falling apart

I read about others' slumps and I can agree that they are frustrating. Sometimes for no reason at all that I can see or reason, I can't play anything without Fat fingering every other notes even the ones I am able to play well I thought. I can't seem to get the right touch and my left hand sounds more dominating than my ' musical' right hand especially 4-5 fingers. Nothing sounds good and it takes too much physical strength to nail any chords and I feel like what the heck who am I kidding I will never be good on the piano then the thought of remorse settles in , "why did I quit piano when I was a child??"I try to reluctantly chug through whatever I call my practice and then ..Then a few days later, for some odd reason I am back to playing /practicing like there is a thing called 'progress' in my life and I hear tunes sharper w my play and fingers are listening to my commands. But those down days or slumps really affect me mentally I feel quitting piano altogether. Like.. Maybe I should pick up trumpet instead, seems simple enough , only three buttons. (I'm kidding) I think my physical condition has lot to do with it. Not sure because I feel the same everyday but it may be just a subtle physical condition affecting the attempt at focusing on a keyboard and sheets while sitting for a couple hours that I'm not aware of in other normal things like work or moving about or doing chores.

Anyways working on Eugenia like I mentioned above and pineapple rag while my wife watches the Olympics. I have the keyboard placed behind her on the couch so I can watch and then play during commercials or misc times that way I'm more engaging with her rather than her always seeing my back when I Practice

Nipped down to the local DP retailer and got to try out many different DPs from different brands, including the Roland V piano grand. I didn't have enough time or focus to really get a good feel for all of the DPs I tried, but I learned a couple things nonetheless.

1. Casio did a damn good job with the action on the x50 series. No matter what DP from every price range I tried ($300 - $30,000), none of them stood out to me as inherently better (action wise). Although, I didn't get much time with any of them, so I can't be completely sure. Even the V piano grand didn't seem that much better. Just different. Was definitely nice though.

2. The V piano grand sounded amazing. The Roland 'supernatural' piano grand might have sounded even better actually. At least on the settings I used.

So many achievements this week, -and how delightful that so many are related to the online recital. I had thought about trying to re-do mine but just didn't have the wherewithall to tackle it again. I've been much happier with previous submissions but...well, this one is what it is, a reflection of where I am at this moment in time.

The more I think about it the more I think live recitals have got to be easier. But I don't have enough experience there to really be sure.

_________________________ ABF Recitals 18-44Another thing you learn along the way is that the music will still be there when you are ready for it. There's no reason to rush. JimF

BrianSaddleback: I can identify with that sliding back feeling. It is common. That's one reason I do recordings and participate in the recital. If I listen to old recordings, I can almost always hear progress over time.

Week 101: I am done with the Mozart Coursera. What did I learn? Some basics about the ranges of the four voices typically found in choirs and where those notes are on the staff. That common chord progressions include I VI I or I V I . I see how chords can be simple or arreggiated to get different effects. Sometimes complex looking music can be reduced down to a very basic chord progression that still gets used in pop music today. A lot of the other stuff was well above my head. I can compose and play basic counterpoint, but I didn't really absorb those lectures. I didn't do the assignments. I stared at the first assignment and did not know where to begin, and decided at that point to just watch the lectures.

I continue with the Berklee College Coursera on songwriting. I turn in lyrics for an unstable verse and stable chorus for my Pancake song. Writing nine lines of a few words each, takes me hours and hours. Sheesh. I so wish I were better at writing lyrics. It feels like such a struggle for me, even after so many years. Of course, on piano, I wish I were better at sight reading, at basic rhythm, polyrhythms, learning by ear, and just about every thing. While I am wishing, let's add singing and dancing to the wish list. Ha ha.

After I grade some other people's assignments for the songwriting Coursera, I get more perspective. I can sense the struggle, the strain in many of their efforts. It is a beginners course. While I have written a lot of songs, I am musically uneducated, so taking the course is a learning experience.

I attend a concert. Smoke and Mirrors is five percussionists all with degrees from the Colburn School. Drums and marimba are the featured instruments. Some pieces are newer; experimental, new complexity are some adjectives tossed about. It is different, not always pleasant.

The ABF recital is always humbling. and a wonder unto itself. The vast skill, dedication, passion, experience and talent is remarkable. Congrats to all that participated. Also remarkable are the many that take the time to listen and comment on every piece. As usually, I find myself with nothing intelligent to say.

Its been a while since I reported in, but I have been reading everyone's progress. I think I am getting pickier about what I call an AOTW for myself, so I haven't had anything that qualified for a while. My teacher is away doing workshops in the US, so I am on my own.

However, today I have something I can call an achievement. I have the first movement of the Kuhlau Sonatina up to performance speed, error free: 120 bpm per quarter. That means the running passages are working smoothly at 480 per 1/16. I recorded today and the runs sounded quite smooth and were shaped appropriately. Now, if I can just get the Rondo up there. The Alberti base at that speed still needs a lot of work. This sonatina has really taught me a lot!

I've been a bit hit and miss with this thread lately...let's try to recover a bit...

Jim - glad you were able to get a recording done for the ABF recital - you really had some techincal difficulties to overcome -- but your piece was well worth the effort, I greatly enjoyed it!

Chrisl- sounds like you really are off to a flying start! Your recital experience went well, albeit with a little disappointment in not getting to play more...But still, what you did went very well and that's a great satisfaction!

Torquenale - your avatar is charming

briansaddleback -- that's a challenging piece you're working on! Joplin is fun to listen too, but so far my brain just can't cope with his scores! More power to you!

Pathbreaker - great you got into the recital - I enjoyed your piece too!

Jayden - another newcomer to the recital! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed listening to your performance!

Corysold--- there are days when I would feel that even being slightly below average compared to a 5th grader would be an improvement! hey we all have to start somewhere!

Piano-deb - I hope you're feeling better!!

SwissMS - congrats on getting your Kuhlau sonatina up to speed! This sounds like a great piece for developing technique. I hope to hear it soon!

Cristian88 - I remember my first piece with pedal...I was terrified of the change in sound! I hope you cope better than I did !

So - my AOTW....is not so much an achievement but ....well, I don't know what to call it. I did have friends over but we didn't play music. I just wasn't in the mood for it. Which made me blue, but that's what it was.Today I spoke to my teacher about the situation and the fact that I feel horrible every time I sit down to play and he was really quite inspirational. He talked about how it was an opportunity to re-affirm how committed I am to playing and to evaluate what playing means to me,to realize that I can do everything "right" and still find difficulties. Of course nothing is resolved, but somehow I feel more able to face the problem tomorrow with better balance and determination to play without feeling awful.

_________________________ ABF Recitals 18-44Another thing you learn along the way is that the music will still be there when you are ready for it. There's no reason to rush. JimF

Thanks for the encouraging comment on the recital, Cheryl. It is embarrassing to do such a poor job on the recording. Thanks to some of our fellow posters I have now got the software properly downloaded to at least make clean up cuts next time. I wish the needed playing improvement were so easily solved.

In recent weeks I have again struggled with some poor lesson sessions.... resulting in a lot of negative thinking along the lines of "what the heck is wrong with me?" When you wrote...

Quote:

.....to realize that I can do everything "right" and still find difficulties. Of course nothing is resolved, but somehow I feel more able to face the problem tomorrow.....

That is exactly what my teacher was going over with me today....she used different words, but with the same bottom line.

Nobody said this piano thing was going to be easy or that results would neccessaryily tie in directly and immediately with effort. I guess that includes trying to keep third parties from running our lives. Sometimes I just forget all that and need to be reminded.

I enjoy reading everyone's achievements, and to those struggling all I can say is try to find your joy at the piano. I have brief moments of euphoria, but usually end up losing it because I get so caught up in the music I forget to play!My achievement: What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong, which seemed unfathomable the first few days, is actually starting to feel playable. I just need my husband to take up the trumpet now lol.

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Yamaha LU101, Casio CDP220R. 1968 Mason & Risch 'frankenpiano' only the cat plays. It's where our musical journey began though so I refuse to get rid of it.

I've read this thread forever but I've never had an achievement of the week before, but - yea! - tonight I sat down and listened to an Irish fiddle tune several times, tried to hum/lilt along, went to the piano and tried it, came back and listened some more, held the final note to try to pitch match it, went back to the piano, changed the key from G to D, and essentially learned it by ear! Then I added some chords. And then I checked it against a couple of tune books I have and saw some other ideas for chords, and of course no two people play it the same way, and no one person plays it the same twice if they've learned it by ear, so I also got some other ideas there.

There's a regular jam on the first Fri of the month, and there's not many tunes they don't know, so I'm going to take this to that session in a couple of weeks, and start really learning to pick up tunes by ear! I just think it will be so much more freeing than being tied to the sheet music, including being tied by having it memorized.

But it was a hoot!

Cathy

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CathyPractice like you are the worst; play like you are the best - anonymous

Jim - don't be embarrassed about the technology problems....we've all been through it at one point or another. (The first time I made a video to go with my recording I think it took me as long to do the video as it did to learn the piece...at least that's how it felt). For our generation these processes are not second nature - even when we're reasonably competent on computers.

Shannon -- you are so right - those moments of euphoria are few and far between (especially for those of us who feel like perpetual beginners! ) But wow, when we have them,.... they are to be treasured!

Jotur/Cathy! That's really a great achievement! wow!!! It's a really exciting development in your skills basket! You must let us know how your start-of-the-month session goes.

Yesterday I sat down at the "appointed hour" and played.....anxiety free for the first time in weeks. It was really lovely.

_________________________ ABF Recitals 18-44Another thing you learn along the way is that the music will still be there when you are ready for it. There's no reason to rush. JimF

Jotur, Uf, playing by ear.... I guess you do need a musical ear to do that.... if you have it definitely make use of it, and share it, I love people's own versions and improvisations! (they get me completely green with envy, but I do enjoy them! )

Shannon, "What a Wonderful World" is one of my favourites... well, everybody's, who cannot like it??? Great song. On my list too

JimF, I really enjoyed your piece, it was lovely played, false starts and all. I was most surprised at your being able to not say anything that might be censured here... only a soft sigh! Now you have the software so you can cut anything you need.

Cas, "anxiety free"! She really cannot complaint if you stick to the agreed hours. Also anxiety free here As soon as I wasn't trying to record for the recital, my fingers found their way, but still make silly mistakes when reading.

So I guess my achievement is discovering that I actually can learn to play something from a music sheet (still basic) but that I do need to continue memorising pieces. I expect that having already made sense of the paper it will be easier to keep them fresh as I can look up at it and check if I forget something.

I am now working -from music sheets!- on "The Sound of Silence", trying to use the pedal on this one too, "Killing Me Softly With His Song" and "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". They are beginning just to sound right, which I'm very happy about. I should have learned the last 2 by St Valentines... but anyway my husband just pretends interest when I talk about piano! I can internally see his eyes rolling and going dead

A reasonably good run today at practice. Gone through Rach C#m prelude, Mozart sonata in A 1st movement and Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu, followed with B and C scales/arpeggios. Very conscience with what my fingers, hands and arms are doing and proficient enough to not worry so much about the notes and fingering. I like it when things go well :-)